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THE CITY BEAUTIFUL 

A TRIBUTE TO THE CAPITAL OF 
THE UNITED STATES 

BY 

RACHEL TONGATE BECK 



Illustrations By 

LEONARD HAROLD WILDER, F. R. S. A. 



SECOND EDITION, REVISED 



WSTOPjfEli 

PUBUSHING 
HOUSE 

BOSTON 



Copyright, ig/j by 
The Christopher Pubi,ishing House 



FEB 17 1917 

©G1,A458104 




Tlie Ci^ Beautiful 

J|THE spirit of seventy-six foretold 

M The upbuild of this great stronghold. 

Wise manhood linked the chain of laws. 
That bind men in a common cause. 

Moved by the patriotic cry, 
"Sink or swim, live or die". 

And Patrick Henry's shibboleth, 
"Give me liberty, or give me death," 

Congress signed the Declaration 
Of the Independence of this Nation. 




lltXDAUNTED couraj2;e paved the way, 
^ To the Republic of today. 

The power of Federahzed control, 
Is centered in this Capitol. 

Beneath the shadow of the dome, 
Where the chosen members come 

To sit in council and decree 
Laws for the great Democracy. 

North, South, East and West, 
Are here in equal manifest. 




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JpACH a quota of the whole, 

^ That forms the masterful control. 

Within these marble columns are 
The arbiters of peace and war 

The loom that weaves the w^ebs that bind, 
The high ideals of mankind. 

These terraces and corridors, 
''The citadel of Senators", 

That echoed to the passing tread 
Of Columbia's martyred dead 




^ ND measured eloquence of tongue, 

"^^ That through the Senate Chamber rung; 

Trophies and reHcs in the hall 
Where the whispering voices call; 

Where the Goddess makes her home 
On the ai)ex of the dome; 

Where the colors rise and fall 
Tn beauty on the outer wall; 

Where God 's beneficence is seen 
And Nature reigns, a royal queen; 




JjIERE the Temple Literary, 
^J The Congressional Library, 

Rises with a gold crowned crest, 
In Columbia's Eagle's nest; 

Carved alabaster marble hall, 
Ripe mosaic frescoed wall; 

Wise philosophers and sages. 
From the aeons of the ages. 

Ancient gods and muses vie 
With the great modernity. 




The Cit}) Beautiful 

JJIELOVlilD o'er the world, our own, 
^^ Columbia's city, Washington. 

The sun shines brighter from his throne, 
The moon has e'en a mellower tone. 

The stars are earthward bent, to shine 
On all the beauties that are thine. 

Potomac croons a mother's song, 
To soothe thee, as she winds along. 

Th(> City Beautiful, thy name 
Enriches all the hosts of fame. 




^HE people's homes and altar fires, 

M The churches, with their star-tipped spires ; 

The avenues, where trees parade, 
In plumed emerald brigade; 

Federal buildings, treasure stored, 
With their overflowing hoard; 

Numerous parks, in verdure dressed, 
That woo the wayfarer to rest; 

Statues, that commemorate 
Some circumstance of high estate. 




^HE monum('nt, a tovverinj>- might, 
V An obelisk of Parian white, 

Pointing heavenward over all 
The sacred precints of the Alall ; 

Here Alpheus his vigil keeps 
Where Potomac winding sweeps. 




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/|TRAND parades march in review 
M' On Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Where the White House, residence 
Of Cohimbia's Presidents, 

Mutely welcomes each new host, 
Nor seems to favor one the most. 

Here Deans of the Diplomacy 
Are guests of the Democracy. 




^HP] romance of Colonial days, 

^ Interspersed with tragedies, 

When Washington in buff and bhie, 
Wore powdered wig and buckled shoe; 

And those days at Yorktown w hen 
Von Steuben drilled our count r\ men 




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TfTOYAL millions venerate 
A deified Triumvirate. 



No monarch seated on a throne 
Had pedestal like Washington. 

Lincoln ! the apotheosis 

Of Columbia's dire distress; 

Grant, the Mars of Civil War, 
Was greater than an emperor. 

Their years are as the yesterdays; 
Their deeds are as the centuries. 




OUNT Vernon in memoria keeps 

Watch where Washington now sleeps: 

Where the aeoHan of regret 

Still sighs the name of La Fayette; 

While the boom of martial gun 
Awakes the dawn at Arlington, 

Once the home of General Lee 
Pride of the Confederacy. 




MJHEN fulfillment of thy mission 
^^ Ripens into strong fruition; 

When thy praises have been sung 
By every language of the tongue, 

By the stranger on thy shore, 
Welcomed through the open door; 

By those Islands of the sea, 
Uplifted to their Liberty; 

When Candida's Dove of Peace 
Yields the War Gods full surcease; 




19|HEN ''the city beautiful" shall bend 
^^ To L'Enf ant's classic trend; 

When politics from fraud are purged, 
And brotherhood of man is urged; 

Then will the god's arch deities, 
Chaunt the anthem of thy praise: 

Jehovah's choirs with joy acclaim, 
The lasting triumph of thy name; 

And every voice on land and sea, 
Will hail the Flag of Liberty. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



010 092 043 8 



